Monday Morning Memo

MONDAY MORNING MEMO

April 22, 2013

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day for students in kindergarten, fourth, and eighth grades is this Wednesday, April 24.  For those of you new to the school who may wonder why we only honor these three grades of grandparents, it is because we have such an overwhelming turnout that we cannot accommodate more!  So annually we focus on these three grades so students have this day for these special people three times in the student’s “career” at St. Paul’s!  We look forward to welcoming them.  Faculty and staff will be parking off campus on that day to allow as many parking spaces as possible for our guests but those of you hosting less ambulatory grandparents may want to drop them off and pick them up at the entrance to our school building, as all events will take place in the school.  Thank you!

The Art Fair is also this Wednesday, from 3:30 – 7:30 p.m. in our gym.  Several works of art created by kindergarten through eighth grade students will be on display for just this one day!  It’s the best art show in town because you know the artists and their work is varied and great to see.  Come enjoy the talents of your children and their friends, as elicited by art teachers, Cheryl Crumpecker and Shirley Laird.

Preschool and toddler music demonstrations are this week!  Thursday, Apr. 25 at 9:00 our preschool parents are invited to join us for a chapel singalong and an explanation of the demonstrations in which parents and children will take part – and then the fun begins!  On Friday, Apr. 26 at 9:15 our toddler parents are invited to join us for a similar event.  Please come prepared to participate – not just watch!

We are pleased to announce that Matt Ronan will be the second grade associate teacher for next year.  Matt has been teaching, primarily music, most of his life, went back to school to get a Master’s degree in education and become certified, and has substituted, accompanied, and assisted throughout the school for three years now.  We welcome him to our staff!

If you will have a toddler, preschool, or pre-kindergarten child at St. Paul’s in 2013-2014 and are planning to register for either A-Team or Lunch Bunch, please don’t forget that registration for the 2013-2014 school year is online! Note that, as was the case this year, A-Team drop-ins are not available—you must pre-register your child by April 30. More information about both programs and the online form can be found here: http://www.speds.org/current-parents-and-students/inside-st-pauls/student-forms/. If you have questions about either program, please contact Linda van Thullenar, lvan@speds.org. 

Friday is Spirit Day and Feed the Need Friday so wear your St. Paul's colors and bring a food or toiletry item for the pantry, if you will.  The item of the week being sought by the church is toilet paper, but all non-perishable items are SO welcome.

A message from the Search Committee:  Your voice matters! We want to hear from all parents, administration, faculty and staff.  All mothers and fathers are encouraged to complete the Head of School Search online survey, if you have not already done so. Even if you attended a focus group session, you may have more to say, and we’d love to hear it. The survey is only available until Wednesday, April 24^th, so act now!    http://tinyurl.com/SPEDSHeadSurvey Thanks again to those of you who attended a focus group meeting and/or completed the online survey. Your input is very important to us! Please contact Amy Holewinski (amydholewinski@yahoo.com)  or Laurie Robinson (lauriemrobinson@me.com) with any questions.

Our Service Club is meeting at the church on Tuesday, April 23 to do volunteer hours in our pantry until 5:00 pm.  Snacks will be provided.  Middle School students may come without a parent, others need a parent sponsor/helper per three students.  Please join us.  To RSVP, e-mail the chaplain at pbauer@speds.org

Please join the Parents' Guild Book Club on Tuesday, April 30th at 8:30 am in the Garden Room of the church for discussion of the novel The Cutting Season by award-winning author Attica Locke.  Michelle Johnson, our Diversity Coordinator at St. Paul's, has agreed to lead the discussion of this book.  The Cutting Season is a page-turning mystery that involves intriguing issues of race in Louisiana in both modern times and during the slavery era.  It should provide a fun, interesting and thoughtful discussion.  We hope you will join us!  Questions? Please contact Joanne Reardon at 816-532-6181.

During the long weekend of April 11 to 14, fifteen seventh and eighth grade Spanish students, accompanied by Sra. Reynolds, traveled to El Lago de Bosque in northern Minnesota to participate in a four-day immersion experience.  The camp is located outside Bemidji, MN and is one of fifteen language learning programs sponsored by Concordia College.

During the program, adult counselors, many of them native speakers, converse only in Spanish with the students and their teachers or chaperones.  The activities revolve around the theme country or civilization, this year the Ruta Maya, which examined the Mayan culture.  Students participated in many activities, including games, cooking, singing, dancing, all focused on the target culture and all conducted in Spanish.  Even the cuisine for the camp reflects the food of the theme countries.

Several St. Paul’s students successfully participated in the “Super Español” challenge, which involves speaking only in Spanish for a period of about four hours.  Two students, Cora M. and Drake R. received counselor awards for “speaking the most Spanish always.”  This was the second year for Drake to receive this award.  Additionally, during the closing banquet, Sra. Reynolds, our teacher and chaperon for the trip, was presented with a plaque honoring five years of service to the goal of language learning! 

The students who enthusiastically participated and were a cooperative, energetic group were:  Haley B., Ashley B., Oliver C., Elyse C., Jade C., Grace C., Natalie D., Zach J., Cora M., Caroline M., Charlie M., Drake R., Rian S., Liam T., and Sydney W. Pictured below are the girls in their room but we were pleased that Oliver, Zach, Charlie, Drake, Rian, and Liam were also present – Mrs. Reynolds just didn’t go into their room for a picture!

You can own a piece of OUR history!   The long anticipated 50^th Anniversary history of St. Paul’s is now available.  Here on Main Street:  Celebrating 50 Years at St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School, by Trudi Galblum and Marcia McMullen can be yours for the modest price of $25 each.  This special book covers the school’s history, from Dr. Clifford Nobes’ vision to start the school through the present day, along with 23 profiles of former students, photographs and archival materials.  The book is full of colorful images, has a hardcover with a dust jacket, measures 10.5” X 8.5” and is 96 pages long.  To order your book, go to https://speds2.ejoinme.org/bookorder.  You are going to want one of these for each of your children so that they can share it with your grandchildren and beyond when we are celebrating the 100^th Anniversary. 

One of our parishioners was taking pictures around the church and was reported to the police as a “suspected pedophile”.  This was extremely embarrassing to the parishioner and, while we appreciate parents being alert to people they do not recognize or who are taking pictures, we would appreciate parents reporting these incidents to either the security guard, the school or the church personnel to allow us to investigate first.  Thank you.

ADDENDUM TO THE MMM

I failed to mention three very important events happening this week and none of my proofreaders caught these omissions either, so here is an update to what’s happening this week!

Our Preschool Music Demonstration will occur on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the north wing multipurpose room.  This is an opportunity for preschool parents to interact with their children in activities that happen in their music classes.  So come dressed comfortably for getting on the floor and rocking with your child!

Eighth grade World Culture Night will happen this Thursday from 4:30 – 6:00.  This is a delightful visit to countries the students have studied, where they will be dressed in costume and serving food that is typical of that served in their chosen country.  Students will be able to share information they have learned but we all enjoy the food most of all!

Our Toddler Music Demonstration will be on Friday morning at 9:15, following all-school chapel, in the north wing multipurpose room.  This, too, is a hands-on demonstration with participation from the parents so please come ready to interact in music and dance with your child. 

These events plus Grandparents and Special Friends Day for kindergarten, fourth, and eighth grades and the Art Fair for everyone on Wednesday; and noon dismissal for all students on Friday complete a very full week for all of us!